For a REAL "Roadfood" experience, go to the "Beacon Drive In". Their "a-plenty" sandwiches, fries and onion rings come stacked about 8 inches high on a plate with the sandwich (pork a-plenty, hash a-plenty, etc.) on the bottom of the stack. And they have the best SWEET iced tea you will ever taste!

But this is one of those places where you need to decide what you plan to order before you step up to the line. They want you to order QUICKLY, get the hell on down the line for pick up and then move to a table or out the door! It is really a hoot.

Check out Michael's write up by searching "South Carolina" and Drive-Ins" on the Roadfood home page.

You definitely have to visit the Beacon. I lived up there when I was a kid and we hardly ever went inside. They had curb service and it didn't matter how many people were in the car or how much food was ordered, the guys would not write a thing down and would bring you your order to the "T." Their website still advertises curb service. When I was a kid, parking on one side of the lot as opposed to the other meant you were ordering from your car.

As for Italian, I recall Capri's was good. It's been 20 years, though.

I met a couple this summer who had just been to the Beacon and had a great time. They were on their honeymoon and stopping for meals at roadfood eateries reviewed in the Stern's dining guide, Eat Your Way Across the U.S.A. (1999). I met them at a North Carolina Roadfood place when they noticed me carrying a copy of the book.

The Beacon Drive-In receives another good review in a more recent Stern's dining guide, Roadfood (2002).

The Beacon also has wonderful,large breakfasts. We were fortunate to meet the owner-Mr. White- a few years ago. What a gentleman! I asked a few months ago how he was and the cashier said he still came by daily. Don't try to eat one of their sundaes after a meal!!LOL

I moved to upstate SC in August and have visited the Beacon several times -- in fact, I was just there yesterday and had a tasty chili cheeseburger a-plenty with my wife! And of course the sweet tea is phenomenal. The breakfast menu does indeed look great, too -- I bet the country ham plate is delicious!

While I love the Beacon, I do sometimes wish it were just a bit cleaner. The place is so busy, I'm sure it's hard to keep up with the customers. Also, I recommend NOT getting an "a-plenty" unless you are with another person and can share it. The first time we visited, my wife and I both ordered sandwiches a-plenty, and wound up wasting a lot of fries and onion chips. Unless you are very, very hungry, the a-plenty can be shared. When you go to the Beacon, you will see a lot of folks around you who have not been able to finish off their a-plenty!

On a related note, this fall at the Barnes and Noble in Spartanburg I found a locally-published book, written by three students from Wofford College, which would appeal to any Roadfoodie. It's called "Exit Ramps and Cheese Grits," and is basically a guide to very Roadfood-like eateries all along I-26 from Columbia, SC to the North Carolina border. Besides Ike's (mentioned by another poster), the book also features Spartanburg restaurants Woodward's and Holmes Hot Dogs. Here's a link to an article about the book: